FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL 76, NO. 3 



Diodon maculatus var. A (not of Lacepede): 

 Giinther 1870:307-308, 1910:475 (various 

 localities). 



Diodon liturosus (not of Shaw): Jordan and Gil- 

 bert 1883:377 (Panama); see Eigenmann( 1885) 

 for other references. 



Diodon hystrix var. holocanthus Eigenmann 

 1885:298-306 (American seas). 



Diodon holocanthus (alternate spelling): Jordan 

 and Evermann 1891:1746 (American seas), 

 1905:436-437 (Hawaii); Jordan and Snyder 

 1902:257 (Japan); Herre 1924:505-506 (Philip- 

 pines); Meek and Hildebrand 1928:829-831 

 (Panama); Le Danois 1959:231 (in part) (various 

 localities); Randall 1968:282 (Caribbean). 



Diodon hystux (not of Linnaeus): Meek and Hil- 

 debrand 1928:827-829 (in part) (Panama); Poll 

 1959:354-355 (West Africa). 



Diagnosis. — Round-bodied Diodon, head width 

 0.26-0.46, peduncle length 0.09-0.20. Caudal 

 peduncle without spines. Body spines rather long, 

 moderate in number. S-D spines 12-16, S-A spines 

 12-15. Frontal spines 0.13-0.28, from slightly 

 shorter to much longer than pectoral axil spines. A 

 short, fixed triba.se spine immediately above the 

 gill opening. A short, downward-pointing spine 

 below the front border of the eye may be present in 

 Atlantic specimens, but is absent in Indo-Pacific 

 specimens. D 13-15, A 13-15, P 21-24. Nasal tenta- 

 cle with a pair of lateral openings. Two small bar- 

 bels on chin. On inshore specimens sets of short, 

 fleshy tentacles: one over each eye, a pair in the 

 middle of the back, six along the ventrolateral 

 edge of body, and one on the dorsolateral edge of 

 body posterior to pectoral fin. Some or all of the 

 tentacles often lacking. Color pattern dominated 

 by large dorsal and dorsolateral blotches. Small 

 spots often quite profuse between large blotches. 

 Fins without spots. 



Description. — (45 Indo-Pacific and 28 Atlantic 

 specimens) Numbers given are those for Indo- 

 Pacific specimens, those in brackets are for At- 

 lantic specimens. The latter are given separately 

 only if they differ from the former. D 13-15 [14- 

 15], the first two unbranched; A 13-15 [13-14]; P 

 20-24 [20-23]; vertebrae (2 Pacific, 1 Atlantic 

 specimens) 12 + 9 = 21. Head width 0.26-0.46 

 (jc = 0.36; SD = 0.04) [0.33-0.43 (.r = 0.38; 

 SD = 0.03)], body width 0.33-0.51 (.r = 0.42; 

 SD = 0.05) [0.38-0.48 ix = 0.45; SD = 0.03)], 

 peduncle length 0.09-0.20 (.v = 0.15; SD = 0.03) 

 [0.12-0.17 U =0.14; SD = 0.02)], eye 0.07-0.17 



(.Y=0.11; SD = 0.02) [0.08-0.15 (x = 0.12; 

 SD = 0.02)]. Dorsal, anal, and caudal fins 

 rounded, middle rays longest. Nasal tentacles 

 with a pair of lateral openings. 



S-D spines 12-16 [13-15], S-A spines 12-15, 

 about 1 1 spine rows over the dorsum between pec- 

 toral fin bases, about 24 spine rows over the ven- 

 trum between pectoral fin bases. Four or five fron- 

 tal spines. Longest frontal spine 0.13-0.28 

 (.V = 0.18; SD = 0.03) [0.13-0.17 (.v = 0.146; 

 SD = 0.012)], pectoral axil spines 0.11-0.22 

 (.V = 0.16; SD = 0.03) [0.11-0.17 (.v = 0.144; 

 SD = 0.013)]. Frontal spines generally longest on 

 the body. Pectoral axil spines 0.89-1.38 (x = 1.12; 

 SD = 0.11) [0.90-1.23 (.V = 1.00; SD = 0.07)] in 

 frontal spines. Dorsal, dorsolateral, and lateral 

 spines about equal in length (ca. 1.1 in frontal 

 spines). Ventral spines somewhat reduced (ca. 1.5 

 in frontal spines). Spines at base of dorsal fin mod- 

 erate (ca. 1.5 in frontal spines) and extend over the 

 peduncle, but no spines wholly on the peduncle. 

 The subdermal lateral bases moderate (1.4-2.3 in 

 shaft length) except in ventral spines where they 

 may equal the shaft length. Shaft extension short, 

 but present on all spines except those on the top of 

 the head. No spines markedly reduced. A short, 

 fixed tribase spine immediately above the gill 

 opening and usually a second slightly posterior to 

 it above the pectoral base. Three or four flat spines 

 with broad lateral bases forming the anterior bor- 

 der of the gill opening. All but one of 86 Indo- 

 Pacific specimens examined without a short, 

 downward-pointing spine below the anterior bor- 

 der of the eye. However, Atlantic specimens usu- 

 ally have this spine on at least one side (52 of 58 

 examined). 



Two small barbels on the chin. Specimens taken 

 pelagically (5-86 mm) lack these as well as the 

 fleshy tentacles described next. A set of fleshy ten- 

 tacles is variably present; absence may be due to 

 damage or poor preservation. The full set of tenta- 

 cles consists of the following: 1) one over each eye, 

 2) one pair middorsally (ca. one-third of the way 

 between pectoral fin base and dorsal fin), 3) two 

 along each postpectoral dorsolateral edge, 4) two 

 along each postpectoral ventrolateral edge, and 5) 

 four along ventrolateral edge of head. 



Background color in preserved specimens light 

 tan or grey to medium brown. The color pattern 

 dominated by several large dark brown to black 

 blotches on dorsal and lateral surfaces. Blotches 

 usually lack a distinct light colored border. 

 Blotches arranged as follows (Figure 18): 1) one 



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